In a move signaling a deep tribute to the spirit of the July Uprising, Nur Mohammad, the courageous rickshaw puller who attempted to save the life of martyr Golam Nafiz, has been invited to attend the first session of the 13th National Parliament.
The session is scheduled to commence tomorrow, Thursday, at 11:00 AM. For Nur Mohammad, who became a symbol of humanity amidst the violence of 2024, the invitation represents the highest honor of his life.
A Heroic Act Amidst Chaos
During the peak of the student-led mass uprising on August 4, 2024, 17-year-old Golam Nafiz—a brilliant student of Banani Vidyaniketan School and College—was shot near the Farmgate footbridge.
In a chilling image that later went viral, Nur Mohammad was seen pedaling his rickshaw with a bloodied Golam Nafiz slumped on the footboard, the boy still desperately clinging to the rickshaw’s metal frame. Despite facing threats and barricades from police and activists of the now-banned Awami League, Nur Mohammad did not abandon the boy.
“I didn’t stop even when they tried to block me. I just wanted to get him to a hospital,” Nur Mohammad recalled.
From the Streets to the Parliament
The rickshaw puller visited the Parliament Secretariat on Wednesday to collect his invitation card. While he admitted he cannot read the text on the formal invite, he expressed his immense pride, noting that the officials urged him to keep the document safe.
The iconic rickshaw used during that fateful day was previously purchased by a businessman and handed over to the July Uprising Memorial Museum on November 7, where it now stands as a historical artifact of the struggle for democracy.
The Legacy of Golam Nafiz
Golam Nafiz was the younger of two brothers and a high-achiever who had recently secured a GPA-5 in his SSC exams. His family eventually located him through the haunting photographs captured by photojournalist Jiban Ahmed, which featured Nur Mohammad’s phone number on the back of the rickshaw.
The inclusion of grassroots heroes like Nur Mohammad in the inaugural parliamentary session underscores the interim government’s commitment to honoring the ordinary citizens whose bravery fueled the revolution.
